Stranded vehicles littered roadsides Monday as several inches of snow and sleet coated Atlanta and other parts of the South, freezing the morning commute in many areas and canceling thousands of flights at the world’s busiest airport.

Sleet, ice and several inches of snow – as much as 9 inches in some places – blanketed states from Louisiana to the Carolinas mostly unaccustomed to arctic weather and caused at least three deaths and left thousands without power. It also hit a part of the country where most major cities have only a handful of snow plows, if any at all.

Cars were having trouble on the slippery streets and highways all over the South, with numerous slideoffs. Off and on, the snow was mixing with sleet around Atlanta, said National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Beasley.

The weather led to more than 2,000 flights being canceled in the region Monday, according to FlightAware, which tracks airline flights.